What are you stressing about?

Please view Stress: Portrait of a Killer (also on Netflix) and consider the following questions for discussion. As critical thinkers, you may find gaps and strengths in his methodology and interpretation of findings, not to mention implications and generalizations of his work; however, this video also captures some simple principles and unavoidable truths that we experience in organizational culture and our daily lives. Enjoy learning about these principles through this entertaining documentary. Given this context, consider the following questions for discussion:

• What can we learn from this study in the context of human social systems, organizational life, climate, culture, role of hardiness for leadership etc.?
• One of the findings in the study indicated that the amount of control is directly related to where you are at in the hierarchy. What is the prescription for individuals not at the top?
• What is your role in contributing to a work setting that allows for human flourishing from the context of this film and other readings? Discuss struggles and successes and weave in hardiness principles, coping & self-care.
• Anything else?

  

Are you 'unconquerable' or 'undefeated'?

Please view this film scene to listen to the poem Invictus (William Ernest Henley) recited by Morgan Freeman; read the poem slowly several times...study and reflect on each line...perhaps pause...and read again. The INVICTUS Poem.doc  took on a different meaning for me the more I studied hardiness in post conflict societies, and even after visiting Robben Island and hearing personal stories from one of the inmates. Many of you may have seen the film Invictus, know about the history of Apartheid, the ongoing sanctions against South Africa, the oppression, racism & classicism that is still very vivid and visceral  throughout the townships, yet the country and its youth embody hardiness principles towards healing, forgiveness, transformation, reconciliation, and resilience. I was greatly humbled and learned much during my research in Cape Town, SA. Knowing what you know about existentialism and hardiness, I encourage you to study and critically evaluate each word, every line and every stanza through the lens of hardiness. Take notes, highlight and comment in the margins on the words, lines, & sections that are meaningful to you. Next, please post a response to our blog expressing what the poem and/or specific stanzas mean to you now that you are studying hardiness? How does your initial face value impression change, enrich, deepen, shift when looking at this poem from a hardiness perspective? Discuss & engage with colleagues as you feel inspired.

Welcome to Leadership Hardiness 2013

Dear Visitors,

We are off to another great adventure this summer to learn about personal and organizational hardiness and how it contributes to adaptive coping, courage, compensatory self-improvement, existential clarity, growth,  and resilience. Students in this course accepted the challenge to learn not only in the traditional classroom context, but also to practice self care and a philosophy on life that will prepare them to climb Mt. Adams, WA as the final simulation and capstone experience of the course. Course objectives are to develop personal hardiness from a holistic perspective involving mind, body, and spirit; study and learn best practices of hardy and resilient organizations; and practice course objectives and the hardiness philosophical perspective in climbing Mt. Adams. In this journey, they will study: a number of scholarly articles on personal and organizational hardiness; Victor Frankl's story - Man's Search for Meaning; High Altitude Leadership; and Resilience at Work.

Leadership & Hardiness students began their journey in this course through learning about the foundation and philosophy on life that contribute to the construct of hardiness and other mechanisms that represent a pathway towards resiliency. Students are currently reading Flrankl's gripping account of "life in a concentration camp as reflected in the mind of a prisoner". The story is filled with realistic depictions of the experiences of camp life and how the experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action and in finding meaning in all forms of existence, even in the most dyer of circumstances, and thus a reason to continue living. Through readings and classroom discussions, students are engaging in an existential analysis of their own existence within the context of their families, organizations, and community. What did we learn from Frankl's story and his life at a concentration camp that has implications for leadership, personal and organizational resilience? What is the relevance of understanding existential analysis to explore meaning and growth in adversity? These are some pragmatic yet important questions to ask in authentic living, let alone in preparing for a class simulation that will stretch the mind, body, and spirit.

As visitors we invite you to join our discussions or simply follow our journey throughout this summer.

Documentary you sponsored - "True ASCENT"

Dear Leadership & Hardiness class of 2012,

My gratitude to all of you who contributed your time, brought visibility to the organization, awareness about at risk youth, and fiscal support to initiatives led by Peak7 Adventures. The group of youth from the inner city dwellings of Tacoma was followed by an independent film crew that captured their stories of fear, challenge, trust, vulnerability, inner strength and resilience. We will be showing this short 30 minute documentary March 22nd in the Jundt Art Museum (Rm. 110) at Gonzaga University at 12:10. 

I hope you can make it!

(Click on image for movie trailer)

Join us in Leadership & Hardiness!

What does it mean to be personally RESILIENT or to be part of a RESILIENT organization?

It means you anticipate that life will introduce opportunities for growth; you are not a prisoner of past performance, good or bad; you learn to choose the unknown future; you sense personal influence over outcomes; and you develop adaptive and proactive coping. Organizationally, you don't rely on the right leader alone for success but build the capability to be resilient into the organization. You constantly rehearse the culture of anticipating and responding to change, and you innovate even when you don't yet need to.

You don't just survive, you thrive - in the midst of challenge and opportunity.

Join us this Summer (2013 )to learn about hardiness as a pathway to personal and organizational resilience. We will challenge the mind, body, and spirit in the classroom but also in an experiential simulation that will test the application of skills developed in class and integration of lifestyle choices on Mt. Adams.

Please email for additional information on the course. Last year, this course filled to our cap of 25 students in the first 12 hrs. I hope you will be one of the 25 this year.

Adrian B. Popa

popa@gonzaga.edu

View Promo Video

Summer Enrollment Opens March 18th

"Run for Your Life", a lesson on hardiness.

A Romanian Jewish immigrant, hardiness, and entrepreneurship = "the greatest race in the world". If you are fascinated and interested in studying more about hardiness through the lives of others you will love the documentary Run for Your Life. Watch this short Tribeca Film Festival Trailer for a quick preview. The film is available on Netflix as an Instant Queue.

(Click image for trailer)

Meaning of Existence @ Auschwitz

I recently returned from presenting at a conference in Poland. After my talk and lovely stay in Kielce, I had the opportunity to travel to Krakow and Auschwitz. WWII and the narratives and stories of Auschwitz and other concentration camps have been a great personal interest of mine given the personal stories I heard from my grandparents who fought or directly experienced the occupation of German and Russian armies. I was quite young when my parents escaped communist Eastern Europe, but I remember vividly the tensions of oppression and marginalization experienced by our family. There were many stories of loss, struggle, pain, fear, anger, and turmoil, but I also vividly remember stories of strength, social support, growth, breakthrough, sacrifice, internal freedom, clarity, and hope. It is this context and the stories of hardiness and resilience found in stories of WWII and especially the unthinkable concentration camps that have drawn me and others to learn more about 'will to meaning' in times of adversity, in times of loss, in times of despair - when we are challenged to face the unthinkable and that which most challenges our being and existence. Below you will find a link that will take you to some images I captured in my visit of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

(click image for pictures)